Michigan DNR urges hunters to wear orange for turkey season

The Michigan Department of Natural Resource's law enforcement division is urging hunters to wear orange when the spring turkey season begins April 18, even though it is not mandatory.

State officials credit hunter education and the use of hunter orange clothing as among the reasons why there were no hunter fatalities related to firearms or archery in Michigan in 2014 and 2015. DNR Corporal Dave Painter tells the Times Herald of Port Huron the state's goal is to improve its safety record, which has seen injuries decline from 275 in 1975 to 13 last year.

This year already has had a self-inflicted hunter fatality. A 67-year-old man in Lapeer County's Oregon Township was killed February 15th when he shot himself when he fell out of a tree stand.